CURRENT AFFAIRS: Europe’s social and economic compass

<< Back to Bulletin

At a time when European values are increasingly being tested, the Connecting EU seminar In defence of European values – the power of civil society places a timely focus on the essential role of civic engagement in safeguarding democracy. Against this backdrop, this article explores how Europe’s social and economic model, together with active citizen participation, can reinforce trust, resilience and a shared commitment to the EU’s founding principles.

When discussing the EU’s values, it is essential to ask how they translate into the everyday lives of European citizens. These values are defined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and further elaborated in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. Together, they should serve as the compass guiding both Europe’s democratic and economic development. 

This means that economic competitiveness should not be viewed as being in opposition to social cohesion. On the contrary, Europe’s distinctive social model is one of its greatest strengths. The combination of economic opportunity, social protection, fundamental rights, and the rule of law is precisely what makes living and working in the EU attractive. This is why one should perceive the European social model (with relevant regulatory framework) as the basis for its competitiveness, not its weakness. 

Europe’s democratic compass: empowering civic engagement

As the latest Fundamental Rights Agency report, Civic Space Update: Enabling civil society to uphold EU values and strengthen democracy, highlights, trust in public authorities and democratic institutions is central to democratic resilience. The report further emphasises that democratic resilience for its part is seen as vital for European security and thus ultimately for the future of the EU and its values as well. 

This assessment is echoed by the OECD in its report Government at a Glance 2025, which argues that falling trust in public institutions should be tackled by promoting greater social cohesion and stronger civic scrutiny of policymaking:

The factor with the greatest impact on trust seems to be individuals' sense of political agency. Of those who feel they have a voice in government decisions, 69% report high or moderately high trust in the national government. In stark contrast, this is just 22% among individuals who feel they lack a voice. Similarly, on average across countries, the trust gap between those with a high confidence in their own ability to participate in politics and those without is 25 percentage points.

This is why it remains crucial to foster civic engagement and meaningful participation in policymaking. Institutions across the EU (including at national and local level) should commit to strengthening instruments of open governance that bring decision-making closer to citizens. They should also invest in inclusive mechanisms that enable structured participation of organised civil society in design, implementation and evaluation of polices. 

One should also understand that the surge in civic protests across the EU signals a commitment of citizens to take a more active part in democracy. Hence, the rights to association and protest should be further reinforced not weakened (as argued in the referred report of the Agency for Fundamental Rights). The response to lack of trust in public and state institutions and their diminishing legitimacy should be more (not less) democratic participation.

Karolina DRESZER-SMALEC (Poland)

Member, EESC Civil Society Organisations' Group

President, National Federation of Polish NGOs (OFOP) 

Vice President, European Civic Forum (ECF)

© EU/EESC